9:00am (EST)

Thursday was a semi-crucial day for the bulls as futures were weak throughout the night and another test to support looked imminent.  However, we mentioned the turnaround in futures in our morning commentary despite Wal-Mart Stores’ (WMT, $73.52, down $1.33) earnings miss and weaker economic data from around the globe.

The market still struggled at resistance and perhaps a mini-trading range is developing as the uptrend lines are holding.  Today could be volatile as February options expire and traders will have to decide if the want to stay long or short ahead of the upcoming weekend.